Steve Sarkisian defends special teams coordinator Jeff Banks

Texas Longhorns tight ends coach and special teams coordinator Jeff Banks is making $1.2 million 2026, a salary that made him the highest-paid special teams coordinator in the country last season.

Banks is also overseeing a punt unit that has given up touchdowns in back-to-back games featuring a punter who struggles to execute the team’s directional kicking strategy with any accuracy or length, a kickoff unit that has kicked the ball out of bounds in back-to-back games, a hands team that failed to recover Tennessee’s onside kick, and a return game that is producing nothing on kickoffs and inconsistent results on punts highlighted by frequent penalties.

And yet, even though the special teams are less than special and even though Banks is paid so much money to coordinate them at high level, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said after Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma, which also included a missed 52-yard field goal late, that he hasn’t considered reassigning Banks, who has worked with Sarkisian for eight straight seasons now.

On Monday, Sarkisian offered a further defense of his embattled coordinator.

“History is the best indicator of the future, and we’ve been good on special teams for quite some time around here,” Sarkisian said. “A lot of faith in Coach Banks and his schemes, and I have a lot of faith in our players to get that done. Sometimes you go through lulls like you do on offense or like you do on defense and I don’t question our ability to coach our way out of that, compete our way out of that to get back to the standard of which we play special teams.”

But what does history actually indicate about the special teams future under Banks?

In 2022, Banks counted on Isaac Pearson to replace Cameron Dicker at punter, going through the entire offseason without a backup plan. When Pearson struggled during preseason camp, Banks was forced to add Texas Wesleyan punter Daniel Trejo from the NAIA level. After one 15-yard punt by Pearson in the season opener, Trejo took over the starting job and averaged only 42 yards per punt.

After a good season from Stanford transfer Ryan Sanborn in 2024, Banks went into the 2024 relying on freshman Michael Kern, a significant risk entering a season with lofty expectations. Kern battled an ankle injury and struggled, averaging 41.6 yards per punt before transferring to Cal and then to New Mexico, where he’s averaging 39.4 yards per punt.

For a former college punter at Washington State, the miscalculations by Banks at the position he should be able to evaluate and develop at the best are all the more frustrating.

With expanded rosters, Banks is now able to devote multiple scholarships at each specialist position, removing any excuse for the poor play of Florida State transfer Mac Chiumento, who was primarily at fault for the punt return touchdown by Tennessee because he punted the ball right down the middle of the field instead of angling it toward the sideline.

In addition to the frequent punting problems, place kicker Bert Auburn regressed during the 2024 season, resulting in his benching for the College Football Playoff semifinal, leaving the Longhorns without a proven place kicker with a national championship berth on the line.

And the special teams that season had penalty issues across the board with 17 total penalties, including seven flagged against cornerback Warren Roberson (two were declined).

In two big games against Georgia, Banks fared poorly against the Bulldogs as his special teams units were responsible for giving up a fake punt in the 2024 SEC Championship game when the backup place kicker was lined up as the punter and a surprise onside kick last year that contributed to UGA’s 21-point fourth-quarter blitz.

This season, penalties have negated multiple positive punt returns by senior Ryan Niblett, who was also responsible for negating a well-schemed return by freshman gunner Jermaine Bishop because Niblett simulated a fair catch on the other side of the field.

Add it all up and the history may not be the indicator of the future that Sarkisian wants it to be, disappointment compounded by the lofty salary Banks is making.

Where is the accountability?